Hay-tedder



(MoouaLy J. A. EHLE.

HAY TEDDER. No. 286,406. I Patented Oct. 9. 1883.

INVENTOR WITNE$SES ATTORNEYS.

- UNITED, STATES P TENT OFFICE.

l-lAY-TEDDEl- R.

, SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Application filed Julvi', 1981.

driving mechanism, and the rear shaft and its supporting-bars, of the pivoted connectingbais, the hinged fork-handles, and the hinged connections, whereby the forks will be vibrated by the advance of the machine; also, in the combination, with the fork-handles, the supporting-shaft, and the hinged two-armed connections having their rear arms slotted, of the latches, the catches, and the guides, whereby the forks will he made to pass forward above the hay.

A are the wheels, the axle B of which revol es in bearings attached to the lower sides of the side bars of the frame 0. The wheels A are made to carry the axle B with them when turned forward by pawls :l), which engage with ratchet-teeth 1 formed upon the nuts that fasten the wheels upon the said axle, or upon separate wheels attached to the said axle. The pawls D are held against the ratchetwheels 13 by springs F, attached to the drivewheels A, and which press against the said pawls. Upon the axle B, at the inner sides of the wheels A, are placed two large gearwheels, G,which are made to revolve with the said axle B by the clutches T, placed upon the said axle B, and secured in gear and out of gear with the axle B by a set-screw or other No. 286,406, dated October 9, 1883.

(Model) the bands should be crossed, so that the axle B and'shaft I will be revolved in opposite disuitable means.

O are angular or two-armed connections, which are hinged at the ends of their forward arms to the fork-handles M, at a little distance from the forward ends of the said handles. Upon the connections 0, at their angles, are formed, or to them are attached, sockets I, to receive the shaft Q, the ends of which work in hearings in the rear ends of the bars R. The forward ends of the bars R are secured to the rear parts of the side bars of the frame 0 by bolts S. Several holes should be formed in the bars R to receive the bolts S, so that the said cured to the handles M by staples or other bars R can be adjusted to support theshaft Q 7 at any desi red distance from the ground. The rear arin o'f each of the connections 0 is slotted to recei ve the f ork-handleM, and has alatch, U, pivoted to one of itsbranches. The connections O are kept in place upon the shaft Q by pins or screws X, which enter the said shaft through slots in the sockets P, so that the said connections 0 can have a slight rotary or rocking movement upon the said shaft Q. The latch U works in a keeper, V, attached to the other branch of the rear arm of the connection 0. YV is a triangular plate,

having a notch or slot in its upper edge, to receive the latch U, and which is attached to the fork-handle M in such a position that the latch U, when in the lower part of the keeper V, will enter the notch'or slot of the catch-plate W, the inclined edge of said catch-plate guiding the said latch into the slot. When the machine is drawn forward,- the crankshaft I is turnedto the rearward or in the opposite direction from the drive-wheels A, and the cranks K and the connecting-rods L cause the forward ends of the fork-handles M to move I and staples h, or other suitable means. To

downward, forward, upward, and rearward, and the rear ends of the forlchandles M to move upward, forward, downward, and rearward. As the rear end of each fork-handle moves upward the catch-plate WV engages with the latch U, and the rear end of the said forkhandle is supported by the said latch Uand. catch-plate W during the forward movement of the said fork-handle, and so long as the latch U is allowed to remain in gear with the catchplate W.

i To the shaft Q, near the free end of the latches U, are attached arms Y, which are curved into such positions that the latches U, as the forks approach the forward end of their movement, willcome in contact with them and be raised from the catches W, allowing the forks to drop to the'ground to come incontact with the hay. As .the forks complete their rearward move ment the latches U again engage with the catches 'VV and cause the forks to move forward above the ground and out of contact with the hay.

To the inner side of the forward crossbar of the frame 0 are hinged the rear ends of the thills Z, which cross the upper side of the said cross-bar, and are connected with its forward side by cross-bar a.

b is a bent or angle lever, which is pivoted at its angle to the upper side of the forward cross-bar, O, of the frame, and at the end of its forward arm to the upper side of the crossbar a. The pivotal connections of the lever 1) should be loose, to give thenecessary play when the said lever is operated. WVith this construction, when the lever b is operated the forward part of the frame 0 will be pressed downward, which will raise the rear end ofsaid frame, and thus raise the tedder-forks away from the ground. The lever b can be secured in any position into which it may be adjusted by a catch-bar, bolt, or other device.

The drivers seat 0 is attached to the upperend of a standard, d, the other end of which is secured to the front cross-bar of the frame A.

e is the rake-head, which is provided with curved spring-teeth f in the ordinary manner. The rake-head e is hinged to the front crossbar of the frameA by hooked or eye rods 9 the rake-head e is attached a hooked arm, '2, the outer end of which can be hooked into a link, 7', hinged to the end of a lever, 7c. The lever his pivoted at a little distance from its lower 'end to a slotted standard, Z, or other support, attached to the front crossbar of the frame A, so that the driver, by operating the lever 70, can raise the rake-teeth from the ground to dump the collectedhay, to pass obstructions,

or for any other desired purpose; or, to the link j can be attached the end of a cord, m,

which passes around a pulley, n, attached to i the axle B. The other end of the cord m is attached to the end of an arm, 0, attached to the rake-head 6, so that the driver, by operat ing the lever k, can draw the cord m around the pulley n and cause the rake to be raised from the ground by the revolution of the axle B. By gradually slackening the cord m the rake can be gently lowered to the ground.-

To the rake-head e is attached the end of a bar, the free end of which projects into such a position that the driver, when the rake .head is raised from the ground, can place his foot upon the free end of the bar 0, and thus hold the rake-head raised from the ground when required.

Having thus described my invention,I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination,with the carriage A B O, the crank-shaft I and its driving'mechanism, and the shaft Q and its supporting-bars, of the pivoted bars L, the hinged fork-handles M, and the hinged connections 0, substantially as herein shown and described, whereby the forks will be vibrated by the advance of th e, machine,

as set forth. I

2. The combination, with the fork-handles M, the supporting-shaft Q, and the hinged two-armed connections 0, having their rear arms slotted, of the latches U, the catches W, and the guides Y, substantially as herein shown and described, whereby the forks will be made to pass forward above the ground, as set forth.

JAMES AAROK EHLE. lVitnesses:

, O. C. DAVIDSON,

GEO. P. GOULD. 

